How the Cardamom Auctions at Puttady and Bodinayakanur Work

Most cardamom grown in Idukki is sold through Spices Board e-auctions held at two centres: Puttady in Idukki and Bodinayakanur in Tamil Nadu. Licensed auctioneers collect cardamom from growers, show samples to licensed traders, and each lot goes to the highest bidder on a computer terminal in a matter of seconds. The average price from these cardamom auctions is the number you see quoted in the news.

This post explains how the cardamom auction in Idukki works, step by step, and why it matters even if you only buy 100 grams for your kitchen.

Where are the cardamom auctions held?

There are two e-auction centres, both run under the Spices Board:

• Puttady, Idukki, Kerala. Inside the Spices Park on the Kumily to Kattappana highway.
• Bodinayakanur, Theni, Tamil Nadu. At the foot of the Cardamom Hills, long the trading town for cardamom coming down from Idukki.

Traders can log in and bid from either centre. If you want to know more about these places, our post on Idukki's spice towns covers Puttady, Kattappana, Vandanmedu and Bodi.

Why an auction at all?

Cardamom trading in India is regulated. The Cardamom (Licensing and Marketing) Rules of 1987, made under the Spices Board Act of 1986, require auctioneers and dealers to hold licences.

For years, auctions were held by open outcry, with traders calling out bids in a room. In 2007, the Spices Board switched to an electronic system at Bodinayakanur and Puttady to make the process more transparent. It was moved to a cloud-based platform in 2021.

How does a cardamom e-auction work?

1. The grower brings cardamom to an auctioneer. After harvest and drying, a farming family takes its dried cardamom to one of the licensed auctioneering companies.
2. The cardamom becomes a lot. It's weighed, bagged and given a lot number. Growers' lots and traders' lots are marked separately.
3. Samples go on display. Samples from each lot are laid out for bidders to inspect before the auction. Traders look at size, colour, the weight of a fixed volume (called litre weight) and smell.
4. Bidding opens lot by lot. Each lot appears on the screens with its number, quantity and the current highest bid. Traders bid from their terminals.
5. It's over in seconds. Bidders get only a few seconds per lot. Kerala Tourism describes about eight seconds for each bidder to quote, and a Spices Board document mentions around six seconds to judge a lot.
6. The highest bid wins. The winning trader's details appear on the auctioneer's terminal and the lot is theirs.
7. The grower gets paid. The auctioneer collects from the trader and pays the grower, minus charges. In 2019, the Spices Board directed that growers be paid in full within 10 days.

What do "maximum" and "average" price mean?

After each auction the Spices Board publishes the day's results, including the maximum price paid for any lot and the average price across all lots sold. News reports usually quote the average.

The maximum price is almost always a small lot of very large, bold green pods. The average is closer to what most farmers get for ordinary cardamom. Neither is the price you'll pay at a shop, because cleaning, grading, packing, transport and the seller's margin come on top.

Is the auction system fair to farmers?

It's better than the old outcry method, but farmers still have complaints. Common ones are late payments, the fact that only two centres exist, and re-pooling, where traders buy cardamom and put it back into later auctions. The Spices Board itself has called re-pooling a serious problem for growers' prices.

Prices also swing a lot. A dry summer or heavy rain cuts supply, and prices jump. A big harvest pushes them down, even though the farmer's costs haven't changed.

Does all cardamom go through auction?

Most of it does. Some growers sell to local dealers instead, and some small sellers buy direct from farming families.

Our own cardamom comes from Idukki, dried in a cardamom dryer, sorted and packed whole with nothing added, in resealable pouches. You can find it here: whole Idukki cardamom.

Whichever route cardamom takes, it helps to know what you're looking at. Our guide on cardamom grades explains the size terms traders use, and the main Idukki spices guide covers the rest of what grows here.

Frequently asked questions

Can anyone buy cardamom at the auction?

No. Only traders with a Spices Board dealer licence can bid. Ordinary buyers purchase from those traders or from sellers who buy directly from farmers.

Why does the auction price differ from the shop price?

The auction price is for bulk, ungraded or partly graded cardamom. Cleaning, grading, packing, transport and the seller's costs are added before it reaches a shop.

Next time you see a cardamom price in the paper, you'll know it came from a few seconds of bidding at Puttady or Bodi.

Sources

• Spices Board India
• Wikipedia: Cardamom Hills